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Gun Shields/Upper Gunner’s Shield for WW II German 2cm Flak-Vierling
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Build Review
Griffon Models are making a name for themselves as the P.E. aftermarket Kings. Their sets are overflowing with all the extras you would want. Rich raised detail & the easy to follow instructions are all marks of quality. Their motto is : By the Modeler for the Modeler.You get what you pay for with these guys.
I would like to start off by saying two things. First, this set is not for the novice. One should be experienced with putting together intricate sets of P.E. , as this set has some very small assemblies and intricate bends. Second there are no substitutes for good tools! There are a few tools you should have in your Arsenal to do a quality job with sets of this nature. So, without further ado “On with the show”
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Tools of the Trade: There are just a few tools that I believe are essential when building a set of this detail. You will be called on to assemble hinges, make some complex bends and perhaps soldier some joints, as this provides the best strength. Here is what I used
Griffon Models Workable Hinge & Handle Maker
Opti-visor (strongly advised)
Etch-Mate
Weller’s Soldiering Station ( variable wattage soldiering gun 5-40w)
Small Shops Photo-Etch Rolling Set
The Adhesives I used ranged from 5 minute Epoxy to 5-15 sec. Cyanoacrylate Glue. The Soldier I used came from a retail Electronics store and is 62/36/2 Silver bearing soldier. @ .015” diameter. The Flux is made by Huff-N-Puff & is of the Liquid variety, similar to TIX, found in the Model Railroad section in My local hobby shop. Now that we have all the Tool of the trade let’s get busy!
Assembly:
With everything laid out in front of Me, I dove right in & started with the first assembly, The Upper Gunner’s Shield. This is the Armored section that is on top of the Gun & protects the Gunner’s upper body & the Optics of the gun. It has a door that would be secured during transit & the hinges are designed to be made workable. The whole assembly consists of 12 pieces ( if you count the hinges as two pieces). I used Griffon's Workable Hinge & Handle Maker
to make the hinges. For a more detailed explanation follow this Link http://www.amps-armor.org/ampssite/BBS/bbsDetailAll.aspx?forum=15&ID=11002&page=0 . I opted to use 5 min. Epoxy on the hinges to secure them as I was afraid of flooding the area with soldier, and none of Us wants that to happen!
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Here is the Upper Gunner's shield finished complete with working hinges
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Here is a side by side comparison of Griffon's part with the Kit part
With those in place the assembly it was smooth sailing from there. You will need to make sure that the sides (part C3) square, as you need to glue the leading edge to the rear plate. I used the 5-15 sec. Cyano. Glue (Super Glue) and will use that as my main Adhesive unless other wise noted. The bolt relief is rendered really well & will scream to be dry brushed & washed later. If you accomplish the hinge correctly you get a nice little working door! With this it gives you options for the later construction & setting of you Flak-Vierling.
STEP 2:
Moving on, I built the Spent Rounds bin. Again you have the option of making a workable hinge, but at least the parts are a little bigger. You will need to emboss the back side of these pieces & I used a Ball point pen & a Ceramic tile(8”x8”) to give it a nice hard surface in which to do this. When doing this all you are really doing is putting impressions into the bin that are not necessarily hard-edged, but by using a hard surface like a Tile you get the definition that you can’t get if you use your Hobby Mat or similar. The bin is flat and needs to bent in the shape of a box. At the edge that joins the box together I decided to soldier it for strength. Using Weller’s Soldiering Station with built in wattage control. I tinned each edge, held it together and soldiered the box together. Coming back and cleaning the flux off with Lacquer Thinner.
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You can see where it was soldiered on the bottom edge.
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.3mm rod is placed for the HInge
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Amo bin is finished, complete with soldiered handle, Check out those Wing nuts
STEP 3:
Surgery or the removal of kit parts in some times inherent in P.E. sets. When you are making and attaching the shields for the gun barrels you will have to remove the kit molded pieces that are attached to the gun mounts.
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Here the Kit shields are removed
Griffon shades these areas Grey in their illustration. You will also have to put a slight bend on the shields, as they are in real life. I used a P.E. rolling set from Small Shop. I took the biggest wooden dowel in this set and slowly started to roll the shield. A little bit of pressure is required as this piece has some thickness to it. I annealed the Brass before I started by using a pair of Forceps to hold the piece as I passed a lighter under the brass until it was warm. This is absolutely essential if you want the brass to bend the way you need it. I let it cool slightly, tapped it to the wooden dowel and rolled it to the desired diameter. Using the kit part as a reference. In this step I chose to soldier the sides of the shield rather than glue, again for strength. I had to form up a Jig in which to get the pieces soldiered on a 90 degree angle.
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a view from the interior of the Shield after it was soldiered
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The side view. A jig was used to insure a proper 90 degree angle
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The shield is installed with a nice square fit
STEP 4:
Now We are zooming right along and start working on the Main Gun Shields. Ah, this is where the fun part starts, with each of the big shields having no less than 32 parts! Most of which are the Foliage loops ( 7 per shield) and their washers.
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Here is a size comparrision of the loops.
Griffon notes in their directions with a Black rectangle, which of the Kit parts you are replacing. Another reason why I love using Griffon Models’ P.E. The directions are Super clear to understand! You start out by attaching the supports for the mount & the rigid angle support for the shield. Special Note III: Part A10 needs to go with part A23 & A9 with part A1. When attaching parts A4 to the shield I chose again to soldier for strength. As this would carry the weight of the shield when mounted to the Gun. One of the Sub-assemblies has you making a securing pin that is used to attach the shield to the Gun when in transit. They want you to glue two small pieces of P.E. to each end of a piece of .5mm wire. I tried this several times with No success. I finally decided to make this piece with the included .5mm wire & part B18. First I measured the length needed for the wire & annealed on end. I then took a pair of smooth jaw pliers & smashed the end. Next I drilled a .3mm hole in the flattened end, and soldiered the rod to part B18. I did this twice, as you need one for each shield.
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another size shot. The rod was anneiled & drilled (.3mm) the end clamp was soldiered to the rod
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One of the two retaining pins installed on the Main Shield. It was used to secure the Shield during Transit
I again broke out the soldiering iron to attach parts A14 & A13 to their respective Shields. You will also need to make a set of hinges for the side mounted Armor plate that attaches to the Shield, as well as the supports that slide into the Floor of the Gun. I attached the Foliage Loops last as I was keeping the Shield facing face down. These were easy to attach when having the shield supported up right. Just a dab of glue on the loop & another dab on the washer on the inside of the Shield.
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Seven loops adorn each Main shield
STEP 5:
Now We get to build the Armor that protects the front of the gun & covers the spent ammo bin. The cool thing in this step is that you again get to build workable hinges for the Armored door to reveal the Ammo bin that you worked so hard on in the beginning. The main body of the armor is made up of three plates. I soldiered these using an Improvised Jig to hold the sides in place while they were soldiered on 90 degree angle.
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a jig again was used for the 90 degree soldiering job
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Here you see the Frontal Armor finished , minus the Door
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Here is the Frontal Armor, attached with the Door open to display the Ammo bin with it's door posed open !
In this step you also get a chance at building a workable lever that will lock the Main Gun Shield in to place when in the Firing Mode. Careful assembly will leave this lever workable!
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Here We see the pieces that make up the Lever & on the Left We see it constructed
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Here is a close up of the Lever attached & it actually works & locks the Shield in place when in the Free Fire mode !
I decided not to attach any of these Sub-assemblies until I had completed all of them. Griffon is not real helpful with the Final Assembly process. They simply give you an Illustration of the pieces attached to the gun. So upon referring to the Kit instructions I took notice of how they should go together.
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Once I had the guns & their shields mounted to the main body I attached the armor for the front of the Gun. It was real tricky here, as the Kit instructions show the armor attaching to the lower part of the body. In my opinion it’s not a strong connection. I did, however notice that the back side of the Armor touched the front of the body. So, a small dab of glue to the inside of the shield & to the “leg attachments” of the armor & We were in business.
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I used The Chopper to make sure everything was cut square
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Here the Supports are. Made from 8.mm ABS rod , .5mm ABS rod & .8mm Brass rod
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here are the supports attached , and a look at the finished interior of the Main Gun Shield
The only thing left to do was to slide the Main shields into place on the Gun. Now, be sure to lock down your Gun Shields. Those locks on the Lower inside Left & Right respectively, actually work and lock down the main Gun Shield when it’s in a Live Fire Operation! Job well done! Dismissed !
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Conclusions:
This is a very involved & detailed kit. It will test not only your patience but your engineering ability as well, which is why We all are attracted to this hobby. I found the Instructions, aside from two missed numbers that are easily clarified, very easy to understand. I would also keep the KIT instructions close as another vantage point. Take your time with this Kit and the Rewards will be yours!
Griffon has really outdone them selves this time, A phrase that will be echoed in the, not too distant future. Their kits keep gaining in surface relief & detail. With the many Kits that share this Platform ( Flak-vierling38) You can really make a stand alone model, be it included in one of Dragon’s Sd.Kfz 7/1(6525), Cyberhobby/Dragon’s Flak-Panther Ausf. D(6626), Dragon’s Flak-vierling Late Production ( 6547). You will know that Griffon has it. By the Modeler, for the Modeler.
“That is All ... And Good Night”
Highly Recommended
ERIK ROBERSON
AMPSCV